August 24, 2021 - Weldaloy Specialty Forgings, Warren, Michigan, a global provider of forgings to the space, aerospace, defense, electronics, oil and gas, and power generation industries, announced that Dr. Ramachandra Canumalla (pictured) has been named vice president and chief technology officer.
Weldaloy supplies critical forgings for government and private space and aviation programs worldwide and is recognized globally for its expertise in the aerospace industry.
Dr. Canumalla, known as “Dr. Ram,” has more than 36 years of metallurgical engineering experience and has published over 90 academic papers and research reports. He is one of the world’s leading metallurgists in the aeronautics industry and was honored as the Metallurgist of the Year in 1997 by the Ministry of Steel and Mines, India.
“Dr. Canumalla is a genuinely great man who values the research and the continued discovery and development in metallurgy and material sciences,” said Andrew Smith, Weldaloy’s COO. “His accomplishments, including chief metallurgist at major forge facilities, along with his time working at the raw material mills, gives him a complete perspective starting from the melting of the engineered alloys followed by thermomechanical processing aspects of Ingot to billet conversions and forging of the products, and thus unique ability to support Weldaloy’s customers.”
Dr. Canumalla was vice president of technology at Weldaloy prior to COVID. His elevation to Vice President and CTO is a result of the growth the company has experienced as it continues to acquire more superalloy forgings.
“I am very excited to be taking up this new position at Weldaloy,” said Dr. Ram. “I believe Weldaloy is uniquely positioned to serve industries requiring specialty forged products in state-of-the-art and advanced materials.”
Dr. Canumalla will provide R&D collaboration with Weldaloy’s customers on new parts, processes and challenges, and partner with raw material suppliers to support commercialization of new alloys.
“Canumalla’s new role at Weldaloy bolsters our ability to add value to our customers,” said Smith. “His expertise in various titanium and superalloys and other engineered alloys provides unique solutions for our customers to help them overcome challenges in the development of products and processes.”
Dr. Canumalla received his bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Warangal; a master’s degree in Materials Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and his Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi.Dr. Canumalla had a three-year post-doctoral stint as Guest Scientist at the prestigious Helmhotz Zentrum Berlin (was Hahn-Meitner Institute for Nuclear Research), Berlin, Germany. He was an Exchange Scientist for about three years at the renowned NASA-CSU facilities, Cleveland.
